Things to do in Lancashire: Brockholes Nature Reserve

I’ve been to Brockholes many times and still haven’t managed to explore it all, it’s a fantastic place to visit. This time Corben and I went for an amble up to Bolton Wood, going up the left hand side of the playground to get there. It was an absolutely beautiful winter’s day, there was a slight chill in the air but bright and sunny with it. Once in the woods we stopped to watch a robin and couple of great tits flit around and sing. I was cursing myself for not bringing my long lens for my camera so did the best I could with what I had!

Corben fell asleep in the carrier while I walked through the woods. He doesn’t often nap when I carry him so I took full advantage and spent some time taking pictures of the wonderful details you can find in woodland. I love the textures of bark and moss, and the curly twining shapes of ivy. The colours even in bleak midwinter are often surprisingly rich, earthy browns and vibrant greens.

Once we were back at the playground Corben was ready to get down and play. There is a lot to do here and I think I can safely say that his favourite thing there is the wooden tractor. A close second would probably be splashing around in the mud next to the bridge! It was getting close to lunch so we headed over to the floating visitor centre just stopping to quack at the ducks on the way. The cafe looks out over the reserve and is a lovely place to eat, it’s hard to believe that the M6 is just behind the line of trees.

We headed back to the car after, stopping to jump in some more puddles on the way. Unfortunately Corben misjudged one and ended up on his bottom in the middle of it… I was very glad it was at the end of the visit and not the start! We loved our morning at Brockholes and next time we will try to join the pram walk they do on Tuesday morning. As long as they don’t mind us using a carrier, we don’t own a pram! Find out more about Brockholes here.